Hikianalia, seen sailing from Hawaii to San Francisco, will celebrate its official landing on Sunday, Sept. 16, at Aquatic Park. Credit: Maria Hugho

The Polynesian Voyaging Society sent a special ambassador to this week’s Global Climate Action Summit: Hikianalia, a traditional voyaging canoe whose 13-person crew has sailed 2,800 miles from Hawai’i guided only by stars, winds, waves and wildlife. Crossing through the Pacific Garbage Path, this journey is an extension of the society’s Mālama Honua (Protect the Earth) campaign, which included a three-year, worldwide voyage by sister canoe Hōkūle’a; it’s designed “to highlight the important relationship between humanity and nature and to inspire action towards a culturally and environmentally thriving world,” according to organizers.

Thousands of spectators, as well as Native American and Native Hawaiian representatives, are expected to welcome the canoe — already safely landed off the San Mateo County coast earlier this week — at noon Sunday, Sept. 16, when it sails under the Golden Gate Bridge and lands at Aquatic Park. The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe will lead a cultural welcome ceremony for captain and navigator Lehua Kamalu and her crew at 12:30 p.m., followed by Hawaiian entertainment and a celebration from 2 to 5 p.m. On Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 17 and 18, the public will also be invited to explore Hikianalia on dockside canoe tours at Hyde Street Pier from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Master navigator Nainoa Thompson and apprentice navigators Haunani Kane and Jason Patterson are seen aboard Hokulea on the first international leg of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. Credit: Polynesian Voyaging Society Oiwi TV

But if you’re fascinated as I am by celestial navigation and traditional wayfinding (cue the “Moana” music), you’ll also want to make time for another Bay Area event this weekend — and perhaps make plans to head to Maui this fall.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, master navigator Nainoa Thompson — part of the Hōkūle’a crew that first sailed to Tahiti in 1976 — will make a rare Bay Area appearance to speak about “the 40-year journey of rediscovering ancient Polynesian voyaging and navigation, and how it has ignited a community of leaders, empowered our youth and created a worldwide movement of global sustainability to preserve our planet Earth for generations to come,” according to a release from organizers at the Hawai ‘i Chamber of Commerce of Northern California.

Kala Baybayan Tanaka, who has served as captain of Hikianalia and Mo’okiha O Pi’ilani voyaging canoes, is leading nighttime star talks during Four Seasons Maui’s fall “Couples Season.”

Those lucky enough to stay at the Four Seasons Maui Resort at Wailea this fall — or “couples season,” as the resort has dubbed it — can take advantage of of several unique experiences offered for adult guests (singles included.) Perhaps the most culturally significant is “Hawaiian Star Stories” with navigator Kala Baybayan Tanaka, who captained Hikianalia’s 2017 voyage from Hawai’i to Tahiti as part of Mālama Honua.

Tanaka grew up in the voyaging canoe culture on Maui, thanks to navigator father Kalepa Baybayan, and serves as a genial storyteller and astronomy guide for guests who gather at 9 p.m. Mondays near the firepits at the Beachwalk Cafe. On a recent cloudy night (something all celestial navigators are well-used to dealing with) Tanaka used a laser pointer to trace constellations in three of the four “star families” that voyagers must memorize to orient themselves. She also shared the meaning behind their Hawaiian names — the short forms are “bailer, bone, fishhook and kite” — and some of their Western analogues. It was sufficiently fascinating that none of us noticed the S’mores fixings that the resort provided.

Baybayan also offers a family version of “Star Stories” in spring; check with the resort when booking. She was also about to give birth to a third generation of modern voyagers in her family, but planned to keep sharing her culture in stories and on the sea.